Butter vs oil in Banana bread and Zucchini bread
I've looked up a number of recipes for banana bread and zucchini bread, which I think of as pretty similar foods in terms of texture, moistness, etc. As I expected, the recipes I find online all tend to be pretty similar - same general ratios of flour, fat, sugar, eggs, and of course banana or zucchini.
The thing that surprised me is that for some reason, banana bread recipes pretty consistently call for butter, which is creamed with the sugar, whereas zucchini bread recipes invariably call for vegetable oil (presumably melted butter would work too).
I'm aware of the reasons in baking for creaming butter vs using a liquid fat. I'm wondering: what's the difference between bananas and zucchini, that one bread is usually made with solid butter, but the other not? (Or is there in fact a deliberate textural difference between "normal" banana bread and zucchini bread, which was absent in the versions I grew up with?)
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Is zucchini bread better with butter or oil?
To me, the best part is that it's made with butter! I really don't use oil in my baking anymore, so any recipe that calls for it has to be modified, and usually with better results. You will for sure love this zucchini spice bread made with butter!Is oil or butter better for baking bread?
Baking with oil produces moist and tender baked goods. Butter, on the other hand, is solid at room temp, and therefore baked goods made with it are (arguably) a tad more dry. Baked goods calling for oil are also extra tender because there is less opportunity to develop the gluten in the flour by overmixing the batter.What does butter or oil do in bread dough?
Fats work as tenderizers in breads by coating some of the proteins that form gluten, preventing them from hydrating and linking up to form large networks that would lead to toughness.Can you use butter instead of oil in homemade bread?
If you are making breads outside of a bread machine, you have a lot of latitude. Melted butter can be substituted for oil. You will get the flavor of butter with most of the tenderizing effect of oil. Unless you use unsalted butter, the butter will add a touch more salt, but it's unlikely that you will be able to tell.You've Been Making Banana Bread Wrong This Whole Time
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